Computer Recommendation for College?

<p>It comes as an option that you can add on (built in with the computer). And there’s a free upgrade to 4gb RAM, so with that it’ll be more like 700-750. But yeah, definitely look into it.</p>

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<p>Mostly the general combo of lack luster build quality and customer support/service. Some of it also may be the alternate combo that I use an HP for work and I live just a few miles the their headquarters - so I see a lot in the paper. Sorry, I really can’t think of something specifically without just linking to other forums. I have heard good about the Envy line though.</p>

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<p>That i5 in the Envy 6 is a 1.6GHz processor. I think that’s a little on the low end for power that the OP wants. Also, the discrete GPU it comes with is the AMD Radeon HD 7670M which is slightly less powerful than the AMD Radeon HD 7690 offered in the cheaper Lenovo Y470p (600MHz vs 800MHz respectively).</p>

<p>Valid point TurtleRock. I’m really not hating on HP I just have not heard good or bad things about them. And yes, the processors that they use on the ultrabooks are still labeled as the “i3, i5, i7, etc.”, however, they lack the power that the normal Intel Sandybridge processors have today. I guess they do this because they don’t want to stray away from the purpose of the ultrabook which is basically just an expanded netbook. </p>

<p>I will take your advice and research the Lenovo brand more. Have heard that they have awful customer support, although so do 99.9% of all computer companies. I don’t think I’ve ever called the actual company if I’ve had an issue with the computer, I’ve just upgraded it myself or gone to forums where I get real people with real knowledge (like you guys), not some random person in a foreign country who has no idea what he/she is talking about. </p>

<p>I guess I’m trying to decide if the dedicated GPU is even worth it. Like I said, I doubt I’m going to have really any time to game in college. So is it even worth springing for one? Will it make other things on the computer run better?</p>

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<p>I’ve also been doing that for years. Most of the time don’t even need to post my own problem. Just lurk the forum a bit and chances are someone has had the same problem and it’s resolved. I’ve done a whole bunch of stuff that I never thought I would be fixing on my computer that way.</p>

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<p>The answer to this really is maybe. Certain tasks are obviously more graphics intensive, but even then they may not be tapping into your GPU potential. Some computers these days are even coming with an on/off switch for the GPU where you just “turn it on” when you think you need it. So, for the common tasks of internet usage, streaming some online video, office suites, and picture and music management the GPU will not “make other things on the computer run better” compared to integrated graphics models. But obviously when it comes to those graphics centered tasks like games, certain photo/video editing, or (maybe?) some comp sci/engineering things (thinking thinking graphic design or those Arts Institute commercials), then that’s when tapping into the dedicated GPU will give you the better fps, a clearer color pallet, or a more detailed display of a rendered graphic item.</p>

<p>If you think you won’t be playing games at all during school, then most likely you can do without and still do almost anything otherwise. But if you think there will be enough instances that you want to play games or work on more graphical tasks, then the card will most likely help.</p>

<p>Completely up to you.</p>

<p>Yeah. I mean honestly the more I think about it the more I realize that I probably want to spring for the dedicated card. Diablo 3 makes me want a computer that can run games.</p>

<p>I mean, I probably will have some down time in college where I’ll be able to run games and programs that will need a video card. So finally, here’s what I’m looking for.</p>

<p>-Smaller sized laptop (15" screen or smaller)
-4-6 gig RAM
-i5 processor
-Dedicated graphics card (decent graphics card too)
-Pretty big hard drive that’s fast too (Maybe i can upgrade to a SSD when I get the money)
-Lenovo, Asus, or Acer preferably?
-$600-$700 price range</p>

<p>Do you guys think this is doable?</p>

<p>You may have to spring a little more than $700, but if you can deal with the business-y look of the Lenovo I’d definitely go that route (you can also get a pretty hefty discount from Lenovo). I personally didn’t like the Lenovo that I tried out in the store (design was too clunky), but I’ve heard very good things about them.</p>

<p>I was checking out Lenovo’s site. It looks like maybe if you even buy it from the company directly and not through a retailer you can get the laptop for way cheaper because of student discounts.</p>

<p>And from what it looks like I’ll actually be able to get what I’m looking for for under $700 which is great. I’m just not sure what video cards are good and which aren’t. Here are a few Lenovo that I’m looking at.</p>

<p><a href=“http://shop.lenovo.com/SEUILibrary/controller/e/tamu/StdAffinityPortal/en_US/catalog.workflow:category.details?current-catalog-id=12F0696583E04D86B9B79B0FEC01C087&current-category-id=7794F9514CE80460C7C2782FB02A5EB6&action=init[/url]”>http://shop.lenovo.com/SEUILibrary/controller/e/tamu/StdAffinityPortal/en_US/catalog.workflow:category.details?current-catalog-id=12F0696583E04D86B9B79B0FEC01C087&current-category-id=7794F9514CE80460C7C2782FB02A5EB6&action=init&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p><a href=“http://shop.lenovo.com/SEUILibrary/controller/e/tamu/StdAffinityPortal/en_US/catalog.workflow:category.details?current-catalog-id=12F0696583E04D86B9B79B0FEC01C087&current-category-id=C7563337D3E07CC4B84607F2E57AE7FD&action=init[/url]”>http://shop.lenovo.com/SEUILibrary/controller/e/tamu/StdAffinityPortal/en_US/catalog.workflow:category.details?current-catalog-id=12F0696583E04D86B9B79B0FEC01C087&current-category-id=C7563337D3E07CC4B84607F2E57AE7FD&action=init&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

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Ha, same thing here. The more I’m looking at D3, the more I want to go pick it up, but iI’m still pretty deep in Age of Conan right now. But still, it’s things like that that also make me want something more than integrated.</p>

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That and the eCoupons they offer periodically. These days usually ordering direct is cheaper. I know this is the case for Toshiba too. Come to think of it, I’ve never purchased a computer from a retail store. You use the display one at the retail store to try it out, then you go on Amazon or the manufacturer’s website and buy it from there. Probably why big retailers like Best Buy are having slumping sales and are being forced to closed up a few shops.</p>

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When you find out which cards your trying to compare . . . just Google 'em! That’s generally what I do (unless I have already researched one of the cards mentioned in the specs). This will usually bring up good info directly from the manufacturers sites and you can compare the clock speeds and such. I like the reviews on NotebookCheck too.</p>

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I’m diggin’ the $689 model (IdeaPad Y470p Laptop - 08552NU - Dusk Black (with USB 3.0) ). I think that’s the model I originally suggested and it fits all your mentioned criteria besides the dual drive bay, and the fact that it comes base with a slow(er) hard drive, but that can be upgraded for cheap, IMO. I’m not sure if this is a California thing (where I live), but is there a Fry’s around you? I saw in the paper today that they’re having a 160GB SSD on sale for $90 after a mail-in rebate. Not sure what newegg offers these days, but you can use that for comparison maybe.</p>

<p>The biggest difference I see with those Lenovo models you listed, besides the storage drive, is the GPU. That original model I suggested (for reference sake) comes with the AMD Radeon HD 7690M. All the other (more expensive) models come with the NVIDIA GeForce GT 640M. According to Notebook Check, the AMD card has a higher core clock speed, or at least a wider range of speed vs the NVIDIA one (600-725MHz vs 625MHz respectively). Also, the AMD has 100 more unified pipelines.</p>

<p>[AMD</a> Radeon HD 7690M - Notebookcheck.net Tech](<a href=“http://www.notebookcheck.net/AMD-Radeon-HD-7690M.67737.0.html]AMD”>http://www.notebookcheck.net/AMD-Radeon-HD-7690M.67737.0.html)</p>

<p>[NVIDIA</a> GeForce GT 640M - Notebookcheck.net Tech](<a href=“http://www.notebookcheck.net/NVIDIA-GeForce-GT-640M.71579.0.html]NVIDIA”>http://www.notebookcheck.net/NVIDIA-GeForce-GT-640M.71579.0.html)</p>

<p>Though, the $839 model comes with a faster HDD and the $1,029 model comes with double the hard storage and a 32GB SSD - but all of that is out of your indicated price range.</p>

<p>Now for Acer:
I looked at a couple models that met your criteria that were closest to your price range. The Aspire TimelineX Series has a couple models that are nearly identical to the IdeaPad Y470p that are closest to your price at $730. Both models (AS4830TG-6808 & AS4830TG-6457) come with the NVIDIA GT GeForce 540M, which by my calculation is slightly inferior to the NVIDIA 640M because it only has a paltry 96 unified pipelines and still works on 40nm (nanometers) because it’s an older card vs 28nm for both of the earlier mentioned cards.</p>

<p>Acer model:
[AS4830TG-6808</a> | Product Model](<a href=“http://us.acer.com/ac/en/US/content/model/LX.RGL02.150]AS4830TG-6808”>http://us.acer.com/ac/en/US/content/model/LX.RGL02.150)</p>

<p>NVIDIA 540M:
[NVIDIA</a> GeForce GT 540M - Notebookcheck.net Tech](<a href=“http://www.notebookcheck.net/NVIDIA-GeForce-GT-540M.41715.0.html]NVIDIA”>http://www.notebookcheck.net/NVIDIA-GeForce-GT-540M.41715.0.html)</p>

<p>Acer had some regular Aspires that looked like they could meet your criteria, but they also had inferior GPUs or just integrated, but were a little on the cheaper side rarely sliding over $700.</p>

<p>Didn’t have time to look up ASUS, but maybe later.</p>

<p>In short, insofar, I think the originally suggested Lenovo Y470p is the closest thing to your desired package (and I’m still keeping it on my personal list!).</p>

<p>One thing - you cannot directly compare AMD and Nvidia GPUs based on specs (their architectures are not the same), only with benchmarks (which results in them being pretty close).</p>

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SC, in case you didn’t see it - here’s a D3 benchmark review:
[Diablo</a> III Benchmarked - Notebookcheck.net Reviews](<a href=“http://www.notebookcheck.net/Diablo-III-Benchmarked.74918.0.html]Diablo”>http://www.notebookcheck.net/Diablo-III-Benchmarked.74918.0.html)</p>

<p>Basically anything will be able to play D3 decently on low settings, even integrated like the Intel HD 3000, and there’s not much of a difference between low and high setting.</p>

<p>And here’s StarCrast 2:
[StarCraft</a> 2 - Notebookcheck.net Tech](<a href=“http://www.notebookcheck.net/StarCraft-2.35167.0.html]StarCraft”>http://www.notebookcheck.net/StarCraft-2.35167.0.html)</p>

<p>Again, it looks like anything you can find these days will play the games you mention “fluently” according to their key. Of course, it seems any of these cards should be able to handle any programs you’ll need for your major as well.</p>

<p>Turtle – sorry for the late reply. You’ve been most helpful. I’m definitely liking the Lenovos the best out of any brands I’ve seriously considered. I’ve talked to a few computer geek friends and they definitely recommended them. I’m still going to take a look at the latest Consumer Reports to see what they say. </p>

<p>As far as gaming goes, again I think I’m overthinking the whole “playing games while in college” idea. I won’t have any time for it. But yeah, I’m definitely looking at the Y series for Lenovos. Which Lenovo do you think would be best for my needs?</p>

<p>Thanks.</p>

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<p>The more information you gather, the better.</p>

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<p>As I’ve hinted at before, there are cheaper models than the Y470p in both the Lenovo and Acer families. The main reason I originally suggested the Y470p was that it fit the most of your criteria in your price range to include a powerful GPU. However, if you don’t mind trading that criteria for a (slightly) less powerful GPU, which would still be able to adequately play any games you’ve mentioned thus far - and I’m confident would still be able to handle any graphics intensive tasks you may come across as an Engineering major, then you can certainly look into those other models.</p>

<p>Such as:
Lenovo Ideapad Y570 (the 15.6" alternative to the Y470p)
~$720
Intel Core i5 @ 2.5 GHz
4GB RAM
NVIDIA GeForce GT 555M
500GB HDD @ 7200
6 Cell battery</p>

<p>Lenovo Ideapad U400 (14")
~$720
Intel Core i5 @ 2.5 GHz
6GB RAM
AMD Radeon HD 6470M
500GB HDD @ 5400
4 Cell Battery</p>

<p>The pros and cons for these 2 selected Lenovo models based on your criteria: They’re the same price and offer the same CPU. While the Y570 comes with 2GB less RAM (considered a cheap DIY upgrade anyway), it comes with a faster drive and a bigger battery which should mean less time plugged in (this is mostly due to the fact that the Y570 is a 15.6" while the U400 is a 14" so therefore more battery can fit). Both also offer a dedicated GPU that should harness solid enough power. IMO the Y570 would be the better option here since it comes base with a faster drive and bigger battery, and you can upgrade your RAM to 6 or even 8GB on the cheap depending on where you buy.</p>

<p>I didn’t list them, but if you’re willing to go back to integrated, the Lenovo T420 (14"), T520 (15.6"), all of Edge series, and all of L series offer comparable specs, but all come with the Intel HD 3000 integrated graphics (and a more business-y look and feel to them), however they’re comparably cheaper ranging from $500-720.</p>

<p>And while we’re at it:

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<p>Really there’s a very wide range of selections from Acer when you cast the net to simply any discrete graphics card and the same, and often cheaper, prices than the Y470p, so you can mull over them to see if they’re something you like.</p>

<p>And is it just me, or does ASUS not prominently display the price of it’s machines on their website?</p>

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<p>I like ASUS, but if there’s one thing I don’t like about them, it’s that their website is a cluster**** of laptops! They’ve got so many choices, but no way to narrow them down, haha!</p>

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OMG, that’s exactly how it is. It’s actually a huge confusing turn off to consumers who are trying to navigate it and decide on a product. Someone should let their webmaster know they effed up.</p>

<p>This thread makes me think there might be a career in advising people on which computer to buy. There are so many computers and so many cards and so many opinions. And once purchased, a lot of people need help setting up and getting the right utilities and their settings and getting technical support after that.</p>

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Like a travel agent? Just tell them what you want and have them do the research and lock you in a model at the lowest possible price they could find?</p>

<p>Or they can come to places like this for free :p</p>

<p>The sales associates at retail stores, like Best Buy, are actually usually very knowledgeable beause they’re typically computer enthusiasts/geeks first and sales people second. They’re genuinely interested in talking about computers and are often college kids majoring in CompSci or something. Unfortunately, as much as they would like to, they can’t recommend a computer based on your stated needs that is not in store - and that doesn’t leave them with a lot of options to suggest or cover sometimes. For the non-average more informed consumer, they just use the retail guys for their advice and then turn around and buy online anyway.</p>

<p>Of course if you go into an Apple store they’re gonna tell you to get the Apple product and if you go into a Windows store (typically right next to or across from the Apple store in the mall - talk about ‘direct’ competition) they’re gonna tell you to buy the Windows based product. So you end up with 5 different people hailing that their product is the best for that particular comsumer’s needs. What you’d need is a single impartial incentive free solicitor in a giant wharehouse that carries every single model ever made. At online prices. That’s what can compete with the internet. People could go in, get a single personal (preferrably knowledgeable) sales associate, and they could get the computer they want knowing they were able to compare a wide array of models across multiple platforms with multiple tweaked needs - the same day they made a decision, no waiting for the delivery guy to drop it once or twice or shove that bowflex assembly on top of it while riding in the truck (of course the same thing may have happened from the manufacturer to this mystic warehouse).</p>

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<p>Are you serious? With one exception* in dozens over the last decade and half, the vast majority of Best Buy staff don’t really know their computer stuff and often use specious explanations to get customers to buy higher priced items or to later explain why such items failed for one reason or another. </p>

<p>Don’t get me started on Geek Squad…have a decent side business because I often get to fix what they screwed up. </p>

<p>In short, I wouldn’t expect the Best Buy folks to do anything more than explain where products are located and sales pitches on why you should buy x-item or why you should agree to help them upsell you. In some ways, they’re worse than Applestore folks because you expect Applestore folks to sell you on all things Apple whereas Best Buy and other bigboxes try to put on a facade of objectivity and technical competence. </p>

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<li>One friend who took a Best Buy gig during college because Co-op jobs were hard to come by after the dotcom bust. Moved onto something much better as soon as he could…especially considering he couldn’t believe the incredibly ridiculous explanations his co-workers used to try to upsell customers on computers/extended warranties. Speaking of their extended warranties…there have been lawsuits filed because Best Buy has been accused of not honoring them when needed.</li>
</ul>

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Like most things in life, individual experiences may vary. I have not just one, but a couple close friends that are currently in college that work at Best Buy and can’t shut up about talking about computer specifics (AL, CA and FL so I know it’s not just where I live).</p>

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<p>Your two friends sound like that friend who took the Best Buy gig when he was hard up on co-op jobs. However, he always emphasizes that people with his educational background and computer/tech knowledge are few and far between not only as regular Best Buy clerks…but also those working in “Geek Squad”. </p>

<p>I’d also add that this is a problem common in nearly every bigbox …whether it’s Best Buy, CompUSA, or Costco.</p>

<p>Hi guys --</p>

<p>Sorry it has been a while since I have been on this thread. I have still been researching computers and have narrowed it down to a few. Turtlerock and Cobrat – you guys have been very helpful already so hopefully you can give me some more of your insight at this point.</p>

<p>I’m kind of stuck, because I’m looking for a relatively powerful computer with a dedicated graphics card, but I’m also looking for something sleek and lightweight that gets excellent battery life. I’m also not looking to spend more than $800 if that’s possible.</p>

<p>So far I’ve really liked Lenovo. They give excellent student discounts and from the reviews I’ve read their laptops seem pretty well made and reliable. As I had said in an earlier post, I was looking at the Ideapad Y series, but they seem to be a little bit more on the pricey side. I was also looking at their U series, which is more of an ultrabook style, but again it seems that you pay quite a lot of money for what you get. The battery life on those is attractive and I did find some with dedicated graphics cards.</p>

<p>I have heard negative things about HP so I won’t even go there, but I’m not completely sold on Lenovo yet. I have seen some attractive Asus models as well. Another thing I’m not completely sold on is the Ivy Bridge processors. It seems that I can get a pretty solid i7 Sandy Bridge for less than the cost of a i3 or an i5 ivy bridge. How do these compare? And since I’ve bridge is pretty much brand new I wouldn’t really be buying extremely dated technology if I did go for the sandy bridge. </p>

<p>Obviously the more RAM the better, and I’d like a relatively fast hard drive (maybe a small SSD if they come with it). I don’t know, maybe I am asking way too much for my given price range. I’m really kind of bouncing back and forth on what computer I’m going to buy so I’m probably not going to get one until I really get sold on one (price wise and hardware wise).</p>

<p>Thanks in advance for any help.</p>